Half Twisted

Every mile is a mile in the right direction. My two miles tonight may not seem like much to you, but to me.....it signifies forward progress. You see, last night, I was looking at my planner and realized that I did not set a running goal for June. You know what that means? It means that I have not been running. Smh. As I looked at my Nike Run Club app, I was shocked to see that I had one run logged on June 4 and no other run logged until June 16. Wow! It was almost two full weeks. Yikes!! That's exactly what happens when we fail to plan. It's true! When you fail to plan, you plan to fail. So I encourage you to set your plan today. Although it's late in the month, it's not too late to set a plan for the remainder of the month. That's the beauty of goals. They can be created or altered at any given time. The other beauty about goals is that they are personal. My husband continues to run at least one mile per day. Although that it not my goal, I can stil...

On this past Saturday I had a chance to do my first Saturday endurance run with Black Girls Run Jacksonville. It was such as great experience. No woman was left alone and there were so many paces and levels of walkers and runners. The Ambassadors had so much energy that it was contagious. I had not run more than 40 minutes in a little over a month so I was nervous but it felt so good to be out there....with a group. I completed my 60-minute run and met my goal of 6 miles. Once the run was over, I was pumped. When I got home, I started looking at my Nike Run App and realized that I was only halfway to my goal of running 62.13 miles this month. Ut oh. I did some calculations and decided that I could meet my goal if I ran 3 miles per day for the next ten days. What's 30 minutes? It's nothing. We waste 30 minutes scrolling through Facebook.  The least I could do is to commit 30 minutes per day to ME.  (How much time to yo commit to yourself daily?) So the journey began....

I love the start of a new month. It means that it is an opportunity for me to start over. It is a chance for me to set new goals. It is chance for me to reshape my plans. For May 2018, my running goal is 100k (yeah....that is 62.13 miles....I don't know the last time I ran that many miles in one month, so.....) Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking: "Why do I run?" ; "What is my goal?" ; "What is my motivation?" These questions are very personal and will differ for everyone. For me.... I run because it keeps me mentally sound. Most importantly, my runs are times that I commit to listening to sermons and uplifting music. I spend that time getting lost in my connection to my heavenly father.  My current goal is to complete the three (3), YES THREE, half marathons that I am registered for later this year. You see, I make plans well in advance because they give me something to shoot for and forces me to eliminate excuses. My motiv...

            I'm back!!!   Silence doesn't mean nothing is happening!! I have not been posting my running journey but YES, I have been moving. I must admit though that I have not been moving at my BEST. During the month of March, my husband challenged me to "do" a mile per day. I ran or walked 30 out of 31 days. That was quite an accomplishment for me. A week later, I ran a 10k. Not just any 10k. It was a 10k with lots of hills. And baby, I was not ready. Not only had I not ran more than 4 miles in the preceding 45 days, but I also ran mostly flat surfaces. During the race I decided that I was ready to get back to my running. I want to run the distance. I want to run my normal speed....and to get faster. Having an opportunity to spend time alone with my thoughts earlier today reminded me that the I am in the only thing that stands in my way of taking life in full force. Life is what we make it. While I take control of my life, I chall...

This is the week that brings this journey to a close. Over the past couple of weeks, I used this blog to share my journey to the Zooma Florida Half Marathon. I had 13.1 miles of work to do and this blog was a way to help me stay accountable. Running is my happy place. Learning to find joy in the little things will create opportunities for even better things. Beautiful Evening Walk with the Hubby Intervals I had a few short runs on the Nike Run App. One was a sprint interval workout. I was scheduled to complete five 400m runs. There was a two-minute break between each run. I ran this same workout five weeks ago. The results excited me. I saw progress. Remember what I said last week... consistency is key!  I was lucky enough not to have to complete the run alone. My mini me, Maddison, joined me on the track and completed my sprints with me. It's always good to run with Maddison because she sprints off ahead of me and gives me something to work for. Hard work never hurt ...

So....the Nike Run App updates every Monday at 12:01a.m. You can imagine that, yes, I wait up every week to see what the next week will hold and whether they will update my training schedule. Well, I looked at it last Sunday and noted that I would be running 4x1200m, 3x1200m, and a 6 mile run. I was ready for the week and quickly started to plan when I complete my runs throughout the week. I missed Monday morning with Oliver and decided that I would get in one of the interval runs after I dropped Maddison off to the football game. I would run while she cheered. Since it starts to get dark early, I needed to be ready to hit the streets as soon as she go out of the car. So, while I was driving (don't judge my multi-tasking), I opened up my NRC app so that it would be set. As soon as I opened it, it asked it I wanted my plan updated based on my runs from the week before. Without thinking, I hit UPDATE. Imagine my shock when I saw a 5.75 mile run, a 7x400m interval run, and a 6 m...

I LOVE my bed. Sleep is SOOO important to me. It is a HUGE sacrifice for me to wake up and start moving before 6:30a.m. Don't get me wrong, I've done it before so it's not that I can't do it. It's just not my preference. I prefer to sleep as LONG as possible. Sacrifice is good every now and again. Last Monday I made the sacrifice. I got up and out. My Nike Run Club app set me up for another Hard Run. The order of the day was 8x1000m. I ran an 8k in August, so I knew how far it was. I was determined to get my (almost) 5 miles done. This run was special because my husband also had a 5 mile run scheduled so the timing was PERFECT. I had a running partner and a chance to remember that my journey is not just about me. Sometimes, we experience things in life for the benefit of others. I ran my pace and it allowed my husband to run his fastest 5k EVER. There was no pressure. Just setting the example for someone else to follow. Be willing to share your journey with som...